To Dream Land and Beyond
by pepdog1
Summary: Kirby has been living in Dream Land ever since he helped defeat Nightmare, but what he really wants is to go out and explore the rest of Popstar. Little does he know all the colourful characters he will meet… Especially since he's going somewhere beyond his little home planet. (Gijinka AU)
1. Chapter 1

_What time is it? New story time! So, time for a gijinka story! This is a teensy bit of an experiment, so bear with me, okay? This is pretty much a prologue. Hope you enjoy!_

_**Chapter One: The Beginning of the Adventure… Right?**_

Bun, Fumu and Kirby were playing hide and seek with their friends, Honey, Iroo and Hohhe. But they weren't exactly being quite. In fact, they were having a rather heated discussion.

"Fumu, please?… Come on!"

"No means no, Kirby. What if Dedede tries something while you're gone?"

Kirby crossed his arms, glaring at the girl. "Is that all I am? A tool to keep your little town safe?! Dedede's not even much of a threat! That's a thing of the past!

"I want to explore, Fumu! I want to at least go to one of the other towns in Dream Land, even if I come back after a few days! I want to meet new people; do new things! Why can't I, Fumu? Huh?!"

Fumu was taken aback. That was the first time since… well the first time _ever_ that Kirby had gotten really angry at her. She couldn't bring herself to look at his eyes, but rather kept staring at that little star on the pocket of his jacket.

"You're right, Kirby." She sighed. "But, you know, I have no say in the matter! You have to talk to Meta Knight, not Bun and I…"

Kirby's glare softened, and he looked away. "Yeah… Sorry for yelling at you. I'm just… so frustrated, you know?! I just want to live an exciting life…"

Bun stood up. "You know what? Let's go get Meta! If we all ask him, he can't say no, right?"

"I can help!"

The three turned to see Bandanna Dee, the little orange-haired boy, cleaning the swords in the storeroom they were hiding in.

"I know how to twist Meta around my finger." He smiled, looking at his reflection in the sword he had been polishing. "He'll listen to me…"

"Thanks, Bandy." Kirby smiled gratefully. "I really appreciate i-"

"Just one thing."

"-iiit… What would that be?" He nervously fingered the zipper on his jacket.

"I want to come with you." Bandanna said, standing up. "If there's two of us, Meta is more likely to let us go!"

"Yeah!" Bun smiled. "Let's go!"

They went to the door, but to their dismay, soon discovered that it was in fact-

"-Locked."

Bandanna seemed very embarrassed as his hand slipped off the knob. "I forgot the key… We're going to be stuck here until somebody comes to help us…"

Kirby put his hand on Bandanna's shoulder. "Don't worry, Bandy! It'll give us more time to figure out a plan. Because we're gonna need one if we're gonna get past Meta Knight..."

oOo

"No."

"Are we really going to do this again?" Kirby deadpanned the older warrior, shoulders slumped in exhaustion.

They had just managed to get out of that storeroom a few minutes ago when Sword Knight and his sister Blade came to get some weapons. After that, they had ran right over, completely pumped up for adventure.

Too bad they probably wouldn't get that adventure.

"Please, Meta Knight!" Bandanna pleaded. "It'll be fun! It'll only be in a nearby city! We won't get into any trouble, we promise!"

"You are not going to any other city on Popstar." Meta said sternly. His metal boot was clinking on the ground rhythmically, making Kirby even more frustrated.

"But-"

"No." Meta started walking away, armour clinking. They ran after him.

"How can you be so mean?" Fumu yelled. "He's been stuck here his whole life! He needs adventure! We can't just wait for another person to attack!"

Meta Knight stopped at the base of his ship, the Halberd. "… You know you'd require more than one person coming along with him, right?" he asked, back still turned away from them.

"So you're saying, if we come along, you'll let us?" Bun smiled. "We'll come then!"

"And Tokkori. I want him to come too."

"Sure!" Kirby smiled. This was going perfectly! "So, which cit-"

"I said you're not going to a city." Meta replied, turning around. His eyes were green, but slowly faded to pink. "I refuse to let you."

"But you said-" Kirby began, but Meta stopped him with a finger.

"I know what I said." He insisted. "You're not going to any city in Popstar. You're going to _Halcandra."_

Kirby's eyes widened. "Halcandra? Y-You mean… _That_ Halcandra?! But it's not even in Gamble Galaxy!"

Even under his mask, everybody could tell Meta was smiling. Probably. "Yes, that Halcandra. And then Halfmoon. And then every other planet in Gamble Galaxy, in order from the furthest away to the closest. I've been planning this for quite a while, and- hey!"

Kirby had glomped the warrior, almost crying with joy. "Meta Knight! Oh, thank yooou! I can't believe it! We're going on a real adventure!"

Meta Knight was hesitant, but hugged the little teen back. "You're welcome, Kirby. I knew you needed to get away. It was my pleasure to prepare this for you. So, get ready, all of you. We leave in the Halberd tomorrow morning."

Kirby hopped away and turned to the others, smiling. "Yes! You hear that? We're going to Halcandra!"

oOo

Later that night, Fumu confronted Meta Knight as he was getting the Halberd ready for the adventure.

"So, you've had this planned for a while?" She asked, sitting near him.

"Indeed." He replied, sitting next to her. "I saw how restless Kirby was getting, and I knew something like this would be good for him."

Fumu smiled. "You know… you're not as cold as everybody makes you out to be… including yourself."

Meta raised an eyebrow. "Meaning….?"

"You pretend to be so cold, like you don't care and only follow the rules, but really, you're kind-hearted and warm."

"If you say so." Meta Knight was about to get up when Fumu hugged him.

"Thanks, Meta."

Meta Knight simply patted the girl's head. "You're… welcome."

With an even bigger smile, she left. Meta wasn't so happy, though, but he kept it to himself.

"Stick with the plan, Meta… It's for their own good…"

oOo

_And as always, remember to review on what you think, and also which stories you would like me to continue writing! Even a simple review saying 'great start!' is good enough for me! X3_

_Also, if you're curious as to how anybody looks like, just send me a PM (or review if you don't have an account) and I shall (try to) draw something up, put it on DeviantArt, and send you a link~!_

_Aaaand random side note, does anybody know what happened to the page breaks? They were there a few somethings ago... Ach, well. You'll have to deal with my oOo things for now._

_Thanks for reading!_

_\- Pepdog1_


	2. Chapter 2

_I have to say, thank you for all your support! I hope this chapter is good enough for you; I had a lot of fun writing it!_

_**Chapter Two: To Halcandra!**_

It was the day! They were going to Halcandra! There, they would start the best adventure of their lives!

Everybody who was attending stood in a group at the bottom of the Halberd; Kirby, Fumu, Bun, Bandanna Dee, Meta Knight, Sword Knight, Blade Knight and Tokkori.

Dedede and Escargon were there to see them off.

"I can't believe you're actually going on this crazy trip." Dedede mumbled, sitting next to Kirby.

The pink haired boy looked at him, a smile on his face. "Aw, don't worry, Dedede! It'll be lots of fun! We'll explore new places, maybe-"

"I'm gonna miss ya, you little pink scamp."

Kirby chuckled a bit. "Aw... Come here."

He happily hugged the king, who hugged him back, but pretended he didn't care.

"Now, don't think I mean anything of it, you hear? I'm only gonna miss beating you at everything! Escargon's not much of a challenge, you know."

Kirby shook his head, laughing. "If you say so, your highness!"

"Good. Now, run along to your little day trip."

Kirby rolled his eyes as he stood up. "Alright then, _dad. _I'll bring you back something."

He turned to the group, looking around. Escargon was saying a warm goodbye to Bandanna Dee, Fumu was talking to Blade Knight; about girl stuff, no doubt; Bun was kicking a ball around with Sword, and Meta Knight seemed to be explaining something to Tokkori.

It would be a little while longer to wait while the Waddle Dees finished packing, but it wouldn't be too long.

Kirby looked down, realizing something. He _was _going to miss everybody, just like Dedede would miss him. He would miss Iroo, Hohhe and Honey; the three little kids who would always play with them. He would miss Fumu's parents, and how they treated him like one of their own whenever he came around. He would miss Coo, Rick, Kine... Even Whispy. These were the people he grew up with. And now he was leaving everything behind.

"Kirby?"

Kirby looked up to Fumu, who was next to him.

"Everything alright?" She asked, a small smile present as usual.

Kirby smiled as well. Sure, he might be leaving his home behind, but he'd be coming back. And he had his dear friends with him to remind him.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Are we all set?"

"Yep! We're ready for takeoff!"

Kirby giggled a bit as Fumu grabbed his hand and led him inside the Halberd.

"To Halcandra!" He shouted, as he stood in the doorway. Dedede and Escargon waved back at him.

And then, the door closed, signifying the last they would see of their home town for a long, long time.

oOo

Inside most of the Halberd, it was extremely uncomfortable. Thin, metal hallways, openings that made it feel like you were going to fall out, almost unbearable heat from the engine, that sort of thing.

But the rooms Kirby and his friends were given? They felt almost like home.

Everybody had a roommate; Fumu was with Bun, Sword was with Blade, Bandanna was with Meta Knight and Kirby was with Tokkori.

"Just like home, eh buddy?" Tokkori asked him as he pulled his pillow into his pillowcase. "Just you and me, being best buddies, making a mess and raiding the kitchen, am I right?"

Kirby chuckled a bit at that. "Yep! And I'll be the one raiding the cookie jar because it's too high for you to reach!"

"But ahah! I am a morphite, remember? I can change into a bird! Try to keep the cookies away from me then!"

"I will!" Kirby snatched away the blonde's pillow, holding it with both hands above his head.

"Hey! No fair!" Tokkori shouted, though he couldn't help smiling too as he jumped up and tried to grab it back.

"Everything's fair in love and war, Kori, and because I love you, I declare war!" Kirby now held the pillow in one hand as he held Tokkori back in the other. "It's for your own good! Save yourself!"

"I'm not going to let you kill yourself by sacrificing yourself to save us! We need a different way to defuse the bomb!" Tokkori joined into the charade, still trying to grab the pillow back.

"But there's no time!" Kirby insisted, running away and hopping onto his bed.

Tokkori got an idea, and held his empty suitcase in the air, wide open. "Quick, throw it out the window!"

Kirby got down and stuffed the pillow into the suitcase, quickly zipping it up.

"Take cover!"

He took the suitcase and shoved it under the bed. The two stepped back towards the doorway... And right into Meta Knight.

"What are you two doing?"

Kirby spun around. "Meta Knight! Hi! We were playing pretend, heheh... We finished unpacking, though."

Meta looked into the room. Other than one of the beds missing a pillow and the other a bit messed up, everything seemed neat.

"Alright then. Come on, I want to show you guys something..."

oOo

_Alright, that was just a bit of a filler, character development chapter. They'll be landing on Halcandra in the next one for sure. Not so sure if they'll be doing anything there, but we'll see._

_-Pepdog1_


	3. Chapter 3

_Just a little note... Unfortunately, I don't think I shall be finishing the Hoshi no Kaabii series. I've simply lost the plot to it. But never fear! I shall do my best to finish this one and Truly Alive. Also maybe Olympic Games from time to time._

_**Chapter Three: Stardust**_

Kirby and Tokkori followed Meta Knight to the front of the Halberd. Everybody else was already there.

"What did you wanna show us, Meta?" Bun asked. He was sitting in his sister's lap, and she was making little braids in his hair.

Meta simply chuckled, gesturing towards the big glass screen at the front. It seemed to be pitch black.

"Um…" Everybody seemed a little confused.

"Watch carefully." Meta told them, gazing off into the blackness. Everybody joined him. It was slightly squished, but with Bun on Sword's shoulders and Tokkori being picked up by the very tall Blade Knight (much to his embarrassment) they made it so everybody could see.

They had to wait a while, but Bandanna Dee soon spotted something. "A comet!"

Indeed, a small comet had passed the Halberd, looking like a little firefly flying past. Then there was another, and another, until the whole space before them seemed to be filled with little lights.

"Woah…" Kirby leaned forwards. He had never seen anything so beautiful!

"I wanted to treat you guys, so I planned to leave on the day of the meteor shower." Meta told them. "That's why we left so early. This phenomenon only happens once every hundred years and, while the people back on Popstar can still see it, it's much more beautiful in space."

Even though the shower had ended, little trails of lights could still be seen.

"Stardust…" Fumu was in awe. "I never thought I'd be able to see it for real!"

Meta started the Halberd up again (he must've stopped it for the shower) and slowly glided them forwards through the stardust. It swirled and danced, and some even got caught on the windscreen.

Kirby sat back, feeling all warm and excited inside. It felt like a dream, but it was real. They were having an adventure. A new experience. They hadn't even landed on the planet yet, but Kirby felt like that was enough beauty to leave him feeling satisfied for a long, long time.

Then, Meta started walking away from the control panel. "Alright, you guys can all take a nap. It'll be morning on that planet when we get there, and we still have about an hour to go."

Everybody obliged, going back to their rooms, though it was doubtful anybody was going to actually sleep. They were too excited!

Their adventure was just beginning…

oOo

"_I don't like this…"_

"What is there not to like?"

"_It just doesn't feel right…"_

"It's the right thing to do, you know. We're doing them all a favour."

"_But still… It's unethical."_

"After what they did, it's perfectly ethical."

_"... Fine. But don't blame me when things go downhill..."_

oOo

Kirby, apparently, was tired enough to fall asleep, as he found himself waking up in a chair in his room.

"That was… a weird dream…" He could've sworn he heard voices… one almost mechanical, and both unidentifiable.

"Kori…" He mumbled, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. "Wh-where are you…?"

The door suddenly opened, and Bun popped his head through. "Hey, Kirby! Are you awake? We're here!"

Kirby's eyes shot open. "Really?!"

"Yeah! Come on!"

Kirby followed, but he was soon stopped by somebody grabbing him by the hood of his jacket.

"Hold on!" Bandanna giggled. "You can't go out there with this thing on! Take it off!'

Kirby did so, taking the little star off first. He had a pink tee-shirt on underneath, and put the star in the middle, slightly crooked to add style.

Bandanna smiled, taking him by the hand and taking him to the door, just as Bun dramatically pressed the open button and swept his arm in the direction of the door.

"_Halcandra!_"

Kirby stepped out in awe. It was warm. It smelled of spices and smoke. The sky was orange and had a beautiful red tinge to it as it got closer to the ground. The dirt was a smoky red, and little patches of moss green grass grew around every spindly tree, like they were little tribes and the bases of the trees were their homes.

But then there was the town. Wide streets, buzzing with people. Small, metal structures covered in bright colours, intricate patterns drawn wherever they could fit. In the street in front of them, they saw people selling many goods and trinkets. The place was abuzz with the happy noises of a marketplace.

Then… the people. Most of them had beautifully tanned or lovely dark skin, ranging from almost red to dark brown and black. Their clothes were so carefully made and had such an attention to detail that it made poor Kirby feel much too underdressed.

"Beautiful, huh?" Bandanna asked, completely in awe as well. "I've seen pictures of it, but none of them even start to compare to the real thing!"

Kirby was about to respond, when he saw something glowing in the corner of his eye. He turned to see Fumu holding something in a jar.

"Stardust!" She squealed. "I have a jar of it!"

"Aw, that's so cool!" Her brother smiled. "Do you think we could keep it in our room as a nightlight?"

"Of course!"

Kirby looked around, soon locating Meta Knight. He went up to him. "Hey, Meta, is it alright if we go explore a bit?"

"Of course it is." Meta Knight smiled. "Just stick together. I'm going to go talk to the leader here. I'll be back here soon."

"Alright then!" Kirby smiled. Then he went back to the others. "Guys, it's time to explore~!"

oOo

_".…Outsiders. I wonder why they're here… Nobody even comes here without a reason. I should probably keep a close eye on them. After all, we don't want anybody to get hurt…"_


	4. Chapter 4

_Unfortunately, (or fortunately for me) nobody has guessed who the two voices Kirby heard belonged to. But, eh. Also, the third one was a different person. _

_Annnnnd, also, _(~^~^~^~^~) means there is a time change after it. I shall be using that to avoid any complications...

_**Chapter Four: Exploring the Town**_

Kirby, Fumu, Bun and Bandanna Dee were more than happy to go off exploring on their own. They looked around multiple stores, talking and giggling as they walked. It was so exciting; being somewhere so new! It was the best experience any of them had ever had.

But as they walked, Kirby's mind began to wander. He played around with Fumu's jar of stardust as he thought. Why would Meta Knight do this all of a sudden? He really wanted to believe that he was just doing it for fun but… something else made him revaluate that thought. And that something else was past experiences. Meta Knight had a tendency of using him for his plans without him knowing… but really, what could Meta Knight possibly do here? It was just a small, friendly town! But that didn't stop him worrying…

"H-hey!"

Kirby suddenly tripped forwards as somebody walked into him. They tumbled to the ground, with Kirby accidentally landing in a rather risqué position on top of the other. The jar of stardust rolled out of his hands and into a stall.

"Oh, I'm so, so sorry!" Kirby cried, trying to get up. "I should've been watching where I was going!"

"No, I apologise… I should've seen you there…"

Kirby stood and helped the other person up to their feet. This person was rather pretty; with intelligent, gold eyes; deep brown skin, bright hazel curls and a small, awkward smile. Their clothes were pretty too; brilliant blues and whites; decorated with golden cog patterns.

Unfortunately, it was impossible to tell their gender from first glance; they had a dainty face and figure, almost cat like; but they also had a flat chest and were rather tall, which was usually a masculine trait.

"Thank you…" They mumbled, dusting themselves off. Then they do the same for Kirby, who blushes slightly. Wasn't expecting that…

"Um, you dropped something." They told Kirby, pointing to where the jar had rolled. It was half concealed underneath a green blanket that was covering a table. The person at the stall didn't seem to notice it.

"Ah, thanks..." Kirby mumbled awkwardly. "Sorry, again... Um, bye..."

He went towards the stall. The person there didn't seem to notice him. Kirby got down on his hands and feet, trying to get to the jar without making much noise.

"Excuse me. "

Kirby looked up, worried.

"What do you think you're doing down there? Trying to steal something?" The person asked, leaning towards him.

They were dressed in blacks and golds, with little red bells everywhere, making little twinkling sounds every time they moved.

"U-um, sorry." Kirby smiled, sitting back on his legs. "I dropped something and I was just trying to retrieve it..."

The person went under, picking up the jar and putting it on the table in front of him.

"Yeah, that's it!" Kirby exclaimed, getting up and reaching towards it. "Thank you so-"

The person snatched it away. "Twenty callengdras."

Kirby was confused. "Pardon?"

"You heard me. Twenty gold coins."

Kirby felt his stomach sink. "B-but I don't have any-"

"No coins, no jar."

Kirby stared at the person in wide-eyed disbelief. What was he going to do?!

"Excuse me..." It was the person Kirby had run into before. "I would like you to give the young man his jar back."

"Why, what's it to you, _dragon slayer?" _The storekeeper hissed. "Are you two working together, or something? And where's Metal General? Isn't he supposed to be with you?"

"Metal General has other business to attend to." Their eyes seemed surprisingly cold now. "Give the boy his jar back before I do something drastic."

The storekeeper stared the other in the eyes for a few seconds, before putting the jar down. "Take it, then..."

Kirby, though hesitant, took the jar. He and the person walked away from the stall.

"Um... Thank you for that. I mean it. This jar belongs to my friend... It's very special to us."

"You're welcome. May I ask what's in it?"

"Um... Stardust..."

The person looked at the jar, in awe. "Wow..."

"Is there any way I can repay you?" Kirby insisted. He felt like he had to do something.

"Well, you could introduce me to your friends..."

"Huh?" Kirby looked behind the person. His friends were running towards him, with Fumu in front.

"Kirby! There you are!" She cried, coming to a stop near them. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, or course!" He replied, giving the jar back. "And I made a new friend!"

"My name's Magolor." They smiled, putting their hand out. "This young man over here accidently bumped into me, heheh..."

"Oh! Haha!" Fumu couldn't help but laugh. "Well, my name is Fumu, my brother here is Bun, this is Andrew, but we call him Bandanna, and this "young man" is named Kirby!"

"Well, it's nice to meet you all!" Magolor smiled, hands clasped together. "Say, you aren't from around here, are you?"

"Um, no..." Bandanna was a bit worried. "How can you-"

"You're not exactly the least noticeable, not with those clothes."

"Oh." That explained it.

"Yeah... Some people think that they can easily manipulate people from other places because they don't know the place and the culture well enough… It's disgusting. You know, I can help you with that. We could go back to my place and I could get you all some more suitable clothes to wear!"

"That would be awesome!" Bun smiled. "But… we might have to go to Meta Knight first and ask if it's alright. I mean, we _are_ old enough to do things ourselves, you know, but Meta is really strict sometimes, so…"

"It's alright." Magolor smiled. "Actually, I think I saw your ship earlier! I'd love to be able to get a closer look, heheh…"

"Sure thing!" Fumu smiled. "Kirby, lead the way!"

(~^~^~^~^~)

_He stepped forwards, slowly approaching the creature with his blade in hand. "Just take the crown. You don't need to worry about a thing…"_

_He was kidding himself. He was shaking nonstop as he tiptoed towards the sleeping beast. He needed to worry about everything. Especially if the beast woke up._

_But it wouldn't wake up, right? He had cast a spell especially…_

_Ever so carefully, he lifted the crown off the beast's head._

_"At last…" He breathed. "At long last. It's mine… The source of ultimate power… The Master Crown…"_


End file.
